Sighting in Blois, October 1, 2011

At about 8:33 pm, a witness saw a luminous circular object cross the sky in complete silence. The sighting lasted 30 seconds, until buildings blocked the view. The object was a perfect disc, brownish in colour, with a slightly luminous or lighter circle at its centre. It moved from east-southeast to west-northwest, a direction consistent with the wind.

GEIPAN's investigation noted, however, that this description does not match any of the airborne objects most commonly reported, such as Thai lanterns or balloons. The movement was also fairly quick: under similar conditions, Thai lanterns stay visible for at least a minute. The object was therefore probably travelling faster than the wind. The case has a medium level of strangeness, given how unusual the object was, and relatively good consistency. Because nothing could be cross-checked, it was provisionally classified C (insufficient data). This type of sighting leaves few leads to follow, and an on-site investigation would yield little information.